Katarina Vilioni

[3] The existence of the tombstone suggests that, by the time Vilioni died, there was a well-established community originating from the Italian peninsula in the city.

[4] The tombstone, which is inscribed in an upper-case Lombardic Latin script, reads: In nomine D[omi]ni amen hic jacet Katerina filia q[u]ondam Domini D[omi]nici de Vilionis que obiit in anno Domini mileximo [a] CCC XXXX II de mense Junii ("In the name of the Lord, amen.

Here lies Caterina daughter of the deceased lord Domenico de Vilionis, who died in A.D. 1342, in the month of June.")

The tombstone was rediscovered in 1951 by members of the People's Liberation Army, among material that had been used to build ramparts at Yangzhou.

The Genoese records state that Domenico Ilioni mentioned in relation to a merchant named Jacopo de Oliverio, who was said to have lived in the "Kingdom of Cathay" (China), where he had multiplied his capital fivefold.